North Hampton leader clarifies public safety plan

Tuesday

Aug 12, 2014 at 2:00 AM

NORTH HAMPTON — Resident concerns about an article that appeared in the Hampton Union's Aug. 5 edition concerning the Select Board's plan to hire a director of public safety prompted Town Administrator Paul Apple to issue an e-mail "blast" to members of the community last week. In it, Apple attempted to clarify what this position would do for the town and why it was necessary to change the management structure of the fire and police departments.

Shir Haberman

NORTH HAMPTON — Resident concerns about an article that appeared in the Hampton Union's Aug. 5 edition concerning the Select Board's plan to hire a director of public safety prompted Town Administrator Paul Apple to issue an e-mail "blast" to members of the community last week. In it, Apple attempted to clarify what this position would do for the town and why it was necessary to change the management structure of the fire and police departments.

"First things first: This is not an additional position," Apple wrote in the Aug. 7 e-mail. "It is not a full-time position (and) it will not cost us any additional money."

The town administrator said the development of the public safety director's position was part of a "reorganization" of the town's fire and police departments.

"The point of the reorganization is to divide the firefighting and the policing from the paper-pushing and the number-crunching," Apple wrote. "Right now, the police chief, the deputy police chief and the fire chief are responsible for all the public safety elements, (while) under the director of public safety (system, the new director) would be in charge of budget and spending, while the officers in charge in each department would fight fires, take care of people and investigate crimes."

Apple pointed out that there are currently three management positions in the two departments and that the same number of people would be in those positions under the new management arrangement. He indicated that the new system would allow the fire and police departments' management to do what they do best.

"Ultimately, the officers in charge can focus on what we want them to focus on because they won't have to worry about filing expense reports and creating budgets," said the town administrator.

Apple reiterated the position of the Select Board concerning the costs associated with running the two public safety departments. He also stated the reasons why this change is being made at this time.

"The Select Board remains committed to the promise they made last year; a new building does not mean new positions," he wrote. "Budget constraints, along with constantly changing concerns and priorities, make it necessary for the Select Board and the town administrator to make changes in the way the town is managed."

Apple also indicated that whether the plan to develop a new municipal campus went forward, it was both the Select Board's and his position that this management change would be made because it is, ultimately, in the best interests of the community.

"This plan, although separate from the campus plan, is a way to better organize the people we have and, hopefully, at less cost," he wrote. "Anything else is a failure to be good stewards of your resources."

Apple prepared and submitted a job description for the new position to the Select Board at its July 30 meeting. It was noted that the director would supervise both the fire and police departments, with the assistance of a chief or senior officer for each function, since that is what is required by state law.

"The director will have the ability to advise and discuss the operations of each public safety department with the chief or OIC (officer in charge) of those departments, but final policies and operational decisions will be at the discretion of the chief or OIC pursuant to RSA 105 and RSA 154," the job description read.

RSA 105 outlines the powers of a police chief in New Hampshire. RSA 154 establishes the same for fire chiefs.

There would be at least one major change in the duties of the individual who would head the Fire Department, however. Currently, the North Hampton fire chief is designated as the town's director of emergency management, while under the job description approved by the Select Board, the director of public safety would assume that function.

The job description also gives the new director the authority and responsibility for the administrative direction of both the fire and police departments.

"The director is the highest-ranking public safety official and has the final authority relative to the budget and budget appropriations for the public safety departments," the document states. "This authority will also extend to the capital improvement planning process, and to limitations on spending and distribution of the approved budgets during any fiscal year."

In filling this position, the Select Board will be looking for a candidate with extensive education and experience including that the successful candidate will have a minimum of 10 years in an executive command position as a chief or deputy chief.

At the last Select Board meeting in July, Apple said he is eager to begin the search process necessary to hire the new director.

"The next step is to begin to consider filling this position," the town administrator said. "I plan to post this job internally first."

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